My mother sometimes speaks spicy, specially hair style. When I was still teenager, most of friends including myself played to change our hair colors. Naturally, we have black hair, and many people change the hair color at least once in life. Of course, teenagers want to get attentions from friends and girls, they try to be outstanding as much as they can. One day, my friend, whose hair color was greenish gray, came to my house and had dinner with my family. When my mother looked at him, she said "how come you put moss on your head?"... I changed mine to gold for a long time. I forgot what she said about it at the beginning (maybe something brutal), but I visited her after putting back the color to natural some years ago. She said "what happened? you don't look natural. You look ugly." :( I'm your son, though. The latest one of her view point about my hair is few weeks ago. She called me and said "you look like Kappa, don't you? You look strange." She saw my photo on Google+. You can see what Kappa is from the below link. It's a Japanese old specter. Do you agree with her comparing those images??

2012.05.12Doughnuts.

I remember I wrote before about how Krispy Kreme was popular in Japan. I thought Japanese didn't like it that much because it wasn't that popular about 10 years ago. There were some famous chain shop called Mister Doughnuts, and also you could find at cafes or Starbucks. Recently, I have had several chances to have doughnuts, and I realized there are so many unique doughnuts shops in Tokyo. I went to Doughnut Plant New York City which stands in Shinjuku Station. A doughnut is 3 to 5 dollars. It sounds a little bit expensive but is huge. I got full just to have one of them. I went to another shop called Hara Doughnut. They use soy milk in stead of regular milk, and the taste is good. Not too sweet and oily. I think doughnuts are getting more popular this couple of years in Japan. Main stream has been always changing.

2012.05.09Ike-men.

A cool guy, a hot guy, a nice-looking guy... I guess most guys on the earth think their such guys. I'm not an exception. Japanese teenagers, sometimes older, call those guys as Ike-men. They always talk about their boyfriend's face, fashion, and style. If you are a computer nerd, you won't be said Ike-men because most likely those people do not care about fashion as well as a game nerd. Here is an interesting example. If you have a chance to come to Japan, you will be able to become Ike-men as soon as you landed. Japanese women often tend to like people who grew up in different cultures, especially you come from European countries or the U.S. They feel those people look handsome. So, don't worry and come to Japan for fun even if you are a record nerd. :)

2012.05.05Golden week.

There is a long vacation called "Golden Week" in Japan between the end of April and the beginning of May. The length is changing and depending on the year calender. In 2012, many big companies started the vacation from April 28th and May 6th. During that time many Japanese go to travel in Japan and overseas. Last year, we had disasters and not many people went on travel, so people who couldn't go last year rushed to fly away. 431,000 people went overseas in 2011, and 563,000 people did in 2012. I was working during the vacation, so everything was usual but less people were in the city. Well, there are 1.2 billion people in Japan, so of course other people travel domestic. Most sightseeing spots are really packed by people, people, and people. I suggest not go there during Golden Week.

2012.05.02Vinyl.

I got VAASKA "Condenado" ep at Nat records in Tokyo recently. They recommended this and explaind the members also play in several more different bands. If my memory is not bad, I think I saw their stage at Chaos In Tejas in 2010 or 2011. I love all the tracks on the ep and especially the artworks. It's good to put it on the shelf to look everyday. The sleeve desing slightly reminds me Appendix "Huora" ep. This ep has been put out by Heartfirst Recordings in Germany. I met the owner twice in Japan. He is a very nice person, and we saw Kriegshog's gig together at Earthdom. We talked about how vinyls and cds were selling in Europe and Japan. The situation between those regions was very similar. People wanted more cds than vinyls about ten years ago, but vinyls were revived last a couple of years. Hiro, the vocalist of Crucial Section, told me few months ago that people chose more vinyls than cds when they went on tour in Europe last year. It depends how they listen!
to music, but I love vinyls.

2012.04.28Polish split.

I got a Polish band's split, "Knife In The Leg" and "The Fight." Knife In The Leg sounds strange in the very beginning. (it's actually 45 rpm even though the center label says 33 rpm) There are 4 songs on their side, and they sound like "getting" hardcore through the end. The intro is weird but not bad, and then the beat and guitar riffs go tougher and thrasher. The Fight is good and nice Hardcore Punk sound. I noticed that the recording was done in 2006 and 2007. I wonder if they still play, but that was good to know there were at least those good bands in Poland at that time. I'm sure Poland Hardcore Punk scene becomes much bigger in a few years.

2012.04.25Distort Poland.

I introduced the good Polish Hardcore Punk band called Alert! Alert! few months ago. I got the ep last week and listened to it all. The production of the record is great. Thick paper for sleeve, the artwork is very old school, I mean I wouldn't think it was a recent band if I found it at a record store. Maybe 80's band? The center labels are photos of punks. Stud leather jacket and a censored lady with shout. The back sleeve says "Distort Poland!" which is now very famous like "Distort Japan" and "Distort Portland." (Why not say "Distort World"!?) The inner sleeve is a thick black nice one. An insert comes with. Tracks? haha... check it out!!
P.S. I found they covered Siekiera!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bvLJFYMdr4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUtxhho9Oao&feature=related

2012.04.21Shoudoku Gig.

Today's Shoudoku Gig was Gauze and Framtid. I love both bands very very much. Gauze played first, and I was in the mosh pit and jumping, shouting, and fisting up over and over again. I'm sure they played for just 1 hour with non-stop and more than 40 songs. I heard they played 63 songs at their one-man show in Osaka recently. I'm spoiled to be in Tokyo and able to see them once a while even though most gigs are very hard to get a ticket. (tickets are often sold out if the live house is too small) The last time I saw Framtid was 10 years ago. I missed them last time in Tokyo, which was maybe Kawakami Forever gig in 2011. I have no words. It's just awesome. The noise is really sharp and attacking, and I love the voice. They played about 45 minutes. This gig must be one of the best 2012 Hardcore Punk gigs of mine. More great gigs are coming up in the next month! Tokyo is burning!

2012.04.18Cafe.

How long can you stay at a cafe? When I was a student, I stayed with my friends for about half a day or all night. We paid for just a cup of coffee or juice and keep refilling. We talked about friends, music, and anything we were interested forever. That was a good memory, and I remembered that situation today with Goum. We stayed at a cafe with a cup of coffee and talked about something important and funny. I apologize to stay long, but they weren't busy :p

2012.04.15dfer vol.2.

I had a gig last night. Crucial Section, Strange Factory, Band Of Acuse, The Marvelous, Asmodeus, Goum, The Tolchockers, and Amnesea played. All the bands was really awesome, especially, Goum got many attentions from audiences. They become better and better day by day. I'm proud of them. Check out their new album which will be out in July from Narm Discos. Band Of Acuse got a new bass player (they were three pieces before), so the sound got heavier and more powerful. They finally recorded a new demo cd-r. Yes, that's really good! Noisy d-beat smasher!! Strange Factory is always great. No Nuke from Fukushima. Asmodeus played more darkly and heavily than before and covered Anti-Authorized song!

2012.04.11What's your National flower?

Most countries would have one or more National flower. Ours are Cherry Blossoms (a.k.a. Sakura) and Chrysanthemum (Kiku) in Japan. The season of Sakura is Spring. Now you can see it many places in all over Japan including Tokyo. Because we plant Cherry Blossoms along rivers and streets, so they look nice when walking underneath. But, they are a very weak kind, so they fall down when rain drops. Unfortunately, it's always raining and windy in this season every year, so we can enjoy them in very short time. Hanami is one of the enjoying way in Japan. "Hana" means flower and "Mi" means watch. We watch Sakura and have a party under it.

2012.04.07Thank you.

I just wanted to say thank you to this news letter everytime. Some of you reply with your thoughts or just to say hi to me. That makes me very happy, and I feel I need to work harder than before. Life is not an easy load for me. I'm becoming 33 years old next month. I imagined I would have been married by 30 years old and had one or two kids when I was a teenager, but it didn't happen by now. I dreamed my business became more successful than this moment when I started. I thought things would go more easily when I was a student. The imagination and real are very different, and most of time the result is disappointing. But, I believe I live how I want to, and this news letter is now my routine. I'm not thinking to stop this so far, and here is the place to show what I have thought or experienced every 3 or 4 days. I really appreciate to have a reader like you, and keep in touch.

2012.04.04Mr. Takayama.

I like Framtid very much. I've been into thme since I found and bought their 1st demo in 2002 at D.I.Y. record shop. I showed it to my friends in California, and all of them also liked it very much. They are going to play with Gauze this month in Tokyo. I'm looking forward to it. The drummer Mr. Takayama (a.k.a. Shin) also plays in Nightmare. Nightmare came last week and is coming the end of this month. My friend told me that he came as dj few weeks ago. He lives in Osaka which is about 500 km (310 miles) away from Tokyo, and he comes once two weeks. I'm thinking if he may move to Tokyo like Crow did in the past. If so, I will be able to see more good gigs.

2012.03.31Nightmare.

I'm going to see Nightmare, Tetsu Array, The Trash, and Eiefits tonight. I remember when I was living in California, Nightmare was supposed to play on their tour. But it didn't really happen and I was very disappointed at that time. I heard from my friends why they couldn't come, but they knew very little information, and it was even a rumor or "someone said like that." I have wanted to know the truth since that happend in 2003. Few weeks ago, I met Nori, who played bass in the time when Nightmare toured in North America, and we started talking about the topic. Almost 10 years later, I knew the truth what happend on their tour. I felt so good (even though I feel still sad I couldn't see them at that time...) thanked him to tell me the whole story. The reason was the border inspection. You know some countries are very strict about entering especially for bands, and it always sucks.

2012.03.28Allergy to pollen.

About 30% of Japanese population have allergy to pollen. If you come to Japan in this season, you will see many people wearing masks. I'm one of them, and when Japanese cedar pollen is flying, it's terrible. I'm taking a pill and using eye drops and rhinenchysis, I but still need to wear a mask to go out. My doctor said that to accumulate pollens in body makes the allergy elongate and worse. There are other pollens like ragweed and Japanese cypress which cause the allergy, too. I like the weather in Spring, but I cannot live with this nuisance :(

2012.03.24Sotatila.

Now Sotatila has been on Japan tour. It was their first gig last night. Sotatila, Think Again, and Rednecks played. All of them were really great. The show space was kind of small and sound system wasn't that good. But, the atomosphere was good, bands' energy was great, and people there were awesome. I talked with Jukka, the vocals of Sotatila. We've emailed since last year, and so that was great to see face to face and talk. He is a very nice man. I'm helping his release now, and I'm sure he will do a great job.

2012.03.21Bowling.

I went bowling last night. My friend Jamie and Pamely are flying back to Canada, so Eiji had a send-off party. Jamie bought a good Rum in Thailand before he came to Japan and brought it, so I made Rum-Coke. Drinking while bowing was my first experience, but it was fun. :) Jamie said Canadian bowling is slightly different. Japanese bowl is heavier than Canadian, and there is no hole on the bowl in Canada. We played two games and then went to a Japanese bar to enjoy the rest of their staying time.

2012.03.17Saw Throat.

My friend recommended Saw Throat "Indestory" LP. This is a side project of the members of Sore Throat, but it absolutely doesn't sound like them. How can I say, very sludgy, muddy, doomy, and dynamic sounds are there. Some of its lyrics are saying about how stupid Punk scenes are. It's gatefold sleeve and great metal-like artworks. It's released by Skuld Releases and Epistrophy Records. I can feel lots of "hates" which they would like.

2012.03.14Economy.

Greek seems to have gotten out of its debt default last week even though the situation isn't still stable. Dow Jones has hit the highest benchmark on March 13th since 2007. China's GDP grows more slowly than being expected by researchers. Japanese Yen has been gradually weaker against US dollar and Euro. Our world has been changing every moment. My household account has been also changing every single minute... I believe the economy becomes better, so does mine!

2012.03.10Flight 2.

(Continued from last news letter)
OK, everything was just perfectly exciting. But, I didn't talked to her. You know, I did't want her to think I'm a weird guy, talking about skulls and hell all the time, a record nerd. ;) So, I just kept the memory in my heart and let her feel comfortable during the flight.
I know you'd think I'm totally chicken or not man like. Well, I understand it the most in the world! I feel like a stupid loser now...

2012.03.07Flight 1.

I went to New York for business last month. I usually go with my partners but take a plane alone because they come from other airports. So we meet at the destination, usually at the a hotel. I don't like the time during flights. It's long (Tokyo - New York is about 12 hours), my back hurts, difficult to sleep, etc.. Well, I'm a man, so I always think how it will be very nice if a beautiful woman sits down next to me during the flight. You know I can decide which seat I want to sit and not decide whom I want to be with next. :( And the probability of my dream is very low. But during this trip, I finally got the great ticket to heaven! A nicely good-looking lady was next to me! And that was on the returning flight to Tokyo which was 2 hours longer than to go! I pinched my face. Yes, it was real! I felt her nice smell, gave grants every 3 minutes, and pass drinks and meal each time! to be continued

2012.03.03Facebook.

Recently, I'm receiving many invitations from my old friends and classmates on Facebook. Facebook has a function of displaying sort of people who may be my friends or known, so once I confirm a friend then my friend's friends see my picture and name on their pages. I guess that's how my friends found me and sent the invitation. It's interesting that I usually don't send invitations to people. Maybe it's because I've already had important people around me in my page since I started that service. But there is honestly another reason. I'm a little bit worried about what I can talk with them on Facebook. I probably just say "Hey, how are you doing? Long time no see!" and check out his/her photo albums and where they live now. Well, it'd be great, but I can't find something fun or exciting doing that... So what's going on on MySpace??

2012.02.29Hot Eye Mask.

Many friends of mine told me few months ago that "Have you tried hot eye mask? They are amazing!" I had no idea at the beginning. Can I see something HOT when I wear those?? Of course, my guess was obscene and not correct at all. Hot eye mask are a product which Japanese company made for removing tiredness from eyes. My friends say they sleep immediately when they wear them in a bed. The eye mask make calm down and comfortable. A pair is about 2 US dollars and 5 or more sets are in a box. I don't have a sleeping problems these days so don't need them, but you know not only a person but several people around me say they are good. So why I don't try. Well, it's a new feeling. I think you can substitute it to just warm towel, but the eye mask can be used anywhere like in airplane or where you cannot get a warm towel. And, yes, they are awesomely making me sleep!Reference: There is only Japanese site, though. Here.

2012.02.25I like cola.

My friend Stefan responded about my last email. He said Coca-Cola kills people in South America. I don't think they kill only people in over there but also in the world if you take it too much. :( Here is a link he attached about the special organization called Killercoke. http://killercoke.org/
Have you ever drunk Japanese tea? I do almost everyday, and surprisingly, my friend Herbert, Czech Republic, drinks it every week. I cannot believe there is a store or place that he can get Japanese tea in Czech Republic. I didn't think it was such famous drink. He know several kinds of tea, and they are just what I know about its kinds. Awesome! Tea and coffee have many kinds of tastes as well as Japanese tea. Maccha, Sencha, Gyokuro, and Hojicha. Some are non-caffeine. It makes my body warm and calm down.

2012.02.22Can or pet bottle?

I like to drink canned juice or soda if I have a choise. I feel pet bottle looks warm faster than the other. I think steel can keeps the temperature slightly longer. A weak point of can would be that sparkling is gone faster. But still I like to drink, for example, Coca Cola with can not pet bottle. I guess many people prefer drinking beer with can to pet bottle (if it exists...)

2012.02.18Wifi.

I took my laptop to a trip. My PC has installed wifi, so I'm supposed to use it at cafe, hotel, or anywhere wifi is available. But, most time the function doesn't work well, and so I have to fight with my control panel and access point things. I'm very wondering if other people are confortable with wifi and have no problem to access the internet especially out home. I know it's very confortable as long as I use it at home because once I set up, I don't need to change the settings everyday. Maybe after taking it out and bring back, and then I would have to reset it. But, the wifi environment is always different from one another, like cafe's and airport's have a different provider service. I tried to find a resolution yesterday at a hotel I stayed, and finally I gave up and went to bed...

2012.02.15Chinese Hardocre Punk now!

My friend DDA(didier) has a band in China. I got the latest information about his band. Most Chinese bands are skillful, especially guitars for me. It's not metallic but more like rock'n'roll sounds. They always surprise me. They have something I've been missing in years. As I mention before DEMERIT, Beijing, is a great band, and they have toured in the U.S. last year. Check out what happens now in China, the communist country!

What do you think about old bands which started playing over recently as reunion. I think all of you know at least one or two bands like that. I've heard of them from people around me. Some get really good reputation, and some don't. In my opinion, if such bands want to play again, they should know fans are expecting their old style not newer one in the very beginning. As I felt while I was seeing their reunion gigs, they'd better play old songs which audience is expecting. Maybe it's good that few new songs are put in the set list. Audience is expecting more than the band thinks. As long as they play with the same name as a reunion, they need to do it better than their past releases, or fans get disappointed. You know, it's very hard to overwhelm their expectation, especially you did a great job in the past, and some bands can play better and revive.

2012.02.08Good old school compilation.

When I was looking around in a record shop last week, this new 4 way split came into my sight. V/A "Hikan Label Omnibus Vol.1" 7"ep. First of all, the sleeve design is old school. The artwork is weird, and the band names pasted like tear-up paper. There are four split columns inside, and all images created by bands are not good pictured, raugh and raw finishes. The color is also uncommon recently. As you can see the sleeve photo, it looks to be put out by 80's Japanese label such as ADK Records. All songs included are brilliantly great as those old school bands. Recording condition is sick, too. Back into 80's Japanese HC scene in 2012!

2012.02.04Continue: Laboratory results arrived.

My friend Lionel sent me interesting links.http://www.acro.eu.org/http://www.criirad.org/actualites/dossier2011/japon_bis/en_japonais/japonais.html
ACRO is a laboratory which opens to anyone interested in measuring radioactivity. Their customers range from individuals to NGO and companies. It has a technical certificate of qualification from the French Ministry of Health for the measurement of the radioactivity of the environment and the food products intended for consumption. It also holds a qualification for radon gas measurements in public buildings. It proposes various services.
CRIIRAD has an analysis laboratory, equipped for identification of radioactive contamination (food, water, etc.), which has been delivered the technical qualification certificate by the Health minister. It operates both in France and abroad, and is funded by its investigations (more than a thousand studies since its creation) and its memberships' adhesions. As all other French NGOs, it is regulated by the 1901 law on non-profit organizations.

2012.02.01Report about radioactivity in Tokyo.

I got an email from my friend Frank that I should report recent situation about radioactivity in Japan. I've been living in Tokyo since before the huge earthquake hit Japan. There are many speculations about the spread of radioactivity. Apparently, its amount shown on a governmental institute called "Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health" indicates as normal as before the disaster. http://monitoring.tokyo-eiken.go.jp/monitoring/index-e.html But it is not stable and changes depends on the weather and wind. The places very close to the nuclear reactors in Fukushima are very much polluted, and agriculture is annihilated. Southern part of Tokyo like Shizuoka and Northern part like Aomori and Hokkaido don't have to much care about it. There are 54 nuclear reactors in Japan which is third largest number in the world. Lots of activities have been held and now 6 nuclear reactors are running. Others were stopped for inspection.
I'm not sure if those reactors will be running again, but the executors must explain the safety to locals. Supposedly, I don't have to worry about radioactive harms from living in Tokyo, but as I mentioned in the last column some scientists expect another big earthquake which may be caused around or near Tokyo. People talk what they believe and lots of rumors are made. Nobody can guess the natural disasters, so what I can do is to prepare how to avoid and escape from the worst situation when they happen.

2012.01.28Aftershocks?

I felt several earthquakes today in Tokyo. One was a little bit big. It could be thought as aftershocks of the big one happened last year, but there weren't many last half a year and recently it happens again. Many scientists say a big earthquake will hit around Tokyo area within three years. I think earthquake is unexpected in any cases. We don't know when the plates under the ground move. But there should be a sign which is leading the event. These small shaking might be...

2012.01.24Out of vogue.

Unbelievable. My friend in USA told me that Middle Class has still played about once a month over there. A member runs a used clothe store called "Out Of Vogue." What a nice name. I've gotta go. It is interesting. Even if I quit my band more than 10 years ago, I still care about them, go to their gigs, and check out their releases. I quit because of not fighting in the band but my personal affairs, so still I've kept in touch with them and sometimes hang out. Some people quit a band because he/she is not satisfied with the band's mission and arguing and fighting all the time. There was that kind of person in my band, too. He always complained about something and worshipped what he believes good. I think he is a good and kind person, still meet once a while, and have dinner together. But, if a person wants to keep a good friendship, he may need to cooperate with others. Egoist is out of vogue.

2012.01.21The worst day in 2012.

It was my girlfriend's birthday last Wednesday. I asked her to come to my apartment to celebrate, and I went out for the dinner meeting. I had a good time with my business partners and drank just few glasses of beer and a glass of of hot Shouchu (traditional Japanese alcohol). We got out of the restaurant and went to a bar to make ourselves a little bit warmer. I had just several glasses of whisky, yes, just a little bit, as long as in my memory.. When I woke up, I was in a room. That was nowhere I knew. I was in a bed with clothes which I wore last night. My jacket was thrown away on the floor. The time was around 9 o'clock in the morning......... I was passed away, my partner took me to the hotel, and my girlfriend left calls, calls, and calls to my cellphone during the night.

2012.01.18Recording.

GOUM started recording for their new mini album. I cannot wait to have it in hand. By the way, I like the atomosphere of recording studio. I can listen to music from good amplifiers and speakers, and everybody is in nice tense. I made mistakes very much when I was in bands. Members blamed each other, didn't satisfied with the sounds, talked about sleeve designs, gigs, people who purchased it... Such conversations are fun and unforgettable, good memory.
GOUMhttp://www.myspace.com/goumjapanhttp://www.youtube.com/user/NARMDISCOS

I watched Hamlet directed by Laurence Olivier on DVD. Well, Laurence Olivier is a nice man, Basil Sydney is an asshole but acting very like that, Jean Simmons is cute of course, and Eileen Herlie is beautiful. It's about 150 minutes and so pretty longer, but once it played I forgot time goes by. The best part of this movie is that I can still get impressed from which was made more than 60 years ago! Good movies are good for long as well as music. Once you get into arts, you cannot get out and think about it all the time like collecting vinyls!

How are you doing today? I'm very busy last a couple of days. We are having a new year celebration soon. That's a party with family, relatives, friends, guests and etc.. You know party is quite fun. Meeting them, talking, drinking and eating good, doing some games. But, that's on a new year day. We have "Oosouji" in the end of a year. Oosouji means clean up your house, room, office, cars and all other belongings. It's a very tough work. I'm not used to doing such as wiping windows, washing cars or cleaning shelves up. That's because I don't usually do them. Well, that's why we have such cleaning event once a year. Our daily lifestyle is pretty much routine. We clean up where we usually use or places which are visible for somebody else. But, those which we rarely pay attention are also getting dirty and dusty. So, once a year we clean them up and welcome a new year. Well, I had a muscle pain this morning. :(
A happy new year to you!

2011.12.28Polish Hardcore Punk.

I bought Armia "Legenda" LP. This is great. I've been following them since they were the former band Siekiera. I know only few things about Polish Hardcore Punk. Fala comp is one of the best compilation that hits my head and influenced to my Hardcore life in the youth. Dezerter, Siekiera, and Armia are still my heavy rotation. In 90's I was very into Homomilitia. The mad female vocals are my favorite. I haven't caught up recent Polish bands, but definitely I will soon because they must be simply great. Let's get back to Armia. The album contains 10 songs, and all the songs just keep thrashing along with D-beat. Play is tight as hell. Vocals sound not very much angry but remind sad feelings. There are some wind instrument in few songs, and they sound like traditional Polish ones and give more loneliness. The entire album is made in depressing thrash D-beat. I like this very much.

2011.12.24What do you do on December 25th?

What do you do on Christmas? I'm spending time with my girlfriend. There are not so many christians in Japan. A statistic shows Japanese christians are about 2.5%. The most believed religion is Shinto which is 82.3%, and second is Buddism which is 75.3%. If those scores are simply added, the total becomes more than two hundred million people, but the number is nearly double the population of Japan. Isn't this strange? The reason why is that many of us are "Syncretism" which means to combine more than one religion. I believe more than 70% of Japanese is it, so we go to shrines, which belongs to Shinto, and temples, which belongs Buddism, case by case. For example, we go to a shrine to pray for a new year on January 1st and a temple when someone in close relations died. So, we are basically free and open for religions. I'm not sure but it could be possible that we may be combining Christians or other religions in the next decades. ha. By the way, I'm also both Shinto and Buddism but celebrating Christmas day because it's a strange Japanese custom.

2011.12.21Kim Jong-il died this week.

Kim Jong-il died this week. It means pretty a lot for Japanese. Under his control Taepodong (Intercontinental ballistic missile or ICBM) was shot to over Japan in 2006 and the other was in 2009. Fortunately, nobody died or injured, but the relationships between North Korea and Japan have been getting serious. Some Japanese have been kidnapped, and still there is not enough information about their survival or death. Some broadcast they have nuclear weapons. Now his third son Kim Jong-un inherit his post and will keep governing the country. He went to International school of Berne in Switzerland in the past. I hope he learned something good for people's living and make relations with neighboring countries much better.

2011.12.17What did you start or quit in 2011?

2011 is two more weeks to end. What did you do this year? Anything special? Every year I look back the year in like this season and think what I have done and if I did better than a year before. I was running Cyclone Records by myself last year, and Satoshi has started to help me since this March. Now I can do more things on the distro with him. He works very well and brings lots of good ideas and efforts. I was taking only the front sleeve of the records, and then he suggested put three photos which are of the front and back sleeve and vinyl with any appendix. I started wear and goods distribution in Japan, and that was his idea, too. On the other hand, I started a part time job last year and quit a few months ago because I became to be able to live with my internet business. Tell me what you started or quit in 2011.

2011.12.14Control!

I made onion soup today. That was my first time, but it wasn't that bad. Take a look this link if you have time. Maybe I can put some Parmesan cheese for more flavor. I try to make Minestrone next time. If you know any good recipe, let me know. Cocking is very fun.
Did you see the line-up for Chaos In Tejas 2012? Anti Sect, The Mob, Nasum, Forward, Zyanose and more great bands are participating! Gotta save time and money to join!

2011.12.10Let's forget everything happened this year and welcome a new year!

I went to "Bounenkai" last night. Bounenkai means "Forget everything happened this year" in Japan. I don't know when this custom started, but Japanese does that in December every year. Any organizations or groups could have it so I have at least 3 times this year. We go to Japanese bar called Izakaya and have food and drinks till we forget bad thing this year. Usually in this season, many people get very drunk and sleeping on the street or train stations. But situations are anywhere. Someone puke in the bar, bathroom or train, get fights against another drunk groups or etc.. Most people are happy with Bounenkai party. I was with my university friends and very drunk, too. But that was amazing and mysterious when I looked up and found total lunar eclipse in the sky.

2011.12.07Learning is interesting.

I went to a class to learn PHP programing last night. It's sometimes very difficult to study something with only reference books or web. What is hard is to understand the logics, terms and theories. I learned English as second language, and there were also many of them. Grammar doesn't look like logical for natives as well as Japanese, but when starting learning and searching deeply, there are many logics. Of course, there are exceptions, but even they are likely to be logical. Terms are, actually, works to memorize, however, on the other hands, they should be thought as substitutes of things and events. For example, "cup" is a name of a thing that is used to drink something, and it's impossible to imagine what "cup" is if you have never seen or heard of it. Terms are a tool of helping remember or imagine. Theory is a philosophy or reason that why it is needed. It could be a kind of rule or system. Logic may be changed in a certain field and still function under the same field. Theory also may be changed, however, it isn't always absolute like logic and includes hypotheses. So, if changes are made, other factors are broadly required to be changed. Theory is a story and history and good to be told by someone who knows it. I broke the wall of understanding PHP theory last night, so now more practice and study are my next subject.

2011.11.30Amebix is not dead.

I listened to Amebix's latest album "SONiC MASS." I got the picture disk. Personally, I like this album. I believe they are trying to make a new world of music all the time. When I listened to the album "Arise" first time, I thought the songs were between Punk and Metal and don't like that much. But I had another chance to listened to "Winter" ep, it hit me a bit. They don't sound as fast as other bands but still feel some enthusiasm. After that, I checked out the mini album "No Sanctuary" and got into them. They don't sound radical but, for me, angry. After that I went back to "Arise" and loved it by now. The luckiest thing in my life was they went on U.S. west coast tour in 2009 and I was there. I went on their first gig in Los Angeles and then flew to Austin and Seattle. They sounded better than releases, especially in Los Angeles. In the very beginning, they said they were nervous because the last time they played was more than 20 years ago.
Well, I was nervous, too, though. But the worry wasn't necessary. I remember the first song was Winter, and when Axeman started, everybody in the live house fisted up.

2011.11.26Why so sleepy in winter.

It's been getting winter. I'm not good at waking up during this season. I set a loud alarm clock, but it doesn't work on this sleepy boy. I found an interesting article about the hardness of wake-up in winter.
"Alice,
I have always been a poor "getter-upper" in the mornings, but lately I haven't even awakened when the alarm goes off. I just sleep right through it and wake up at around noon. I have been missing classes regularly and it's very distressing! I haven't been going to bed any later (I go to sleep at around 2:30 or 3 AM and have since the beginning of school and I used to wake up at around ten for my class). I haven't been eating or exercising differently. Could this be a result of the shift in weather or in the clocks? Does it take time for the body to adjust to the new season? Sleepyhead
Dear Sleepyhead,
Many people find it difficult to leave their comfy warm beds on a frigid winter morning, especially if it's still dark out when you're waking. People's bodies do change with the seasons, and just like many animals, people can be sleepier and lazier in the winter. It's possible that you're able to operate on a 3 am to 10 am sleep schedule in the summer, but in winter months your body may require something different. Have you seen any other changes in your routine? Or is there something stressful in your life that may be impacting you (consciously or unconsciously)? Here's the skinny on sleep. Everyone has a sleep-wake cycle that corresponds to his or her optimum degree of physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Sleep researchers believe that the majority of Americans are sleeping 60 to 90 minutes a night less than the seven, eight, or nine hours that would leave them refreshed and energetic during the day. In our culture, sleep is often considered expendable. In fact, not sleeping much is considered a sign of ambition and drive. But the truth is that adequate sleep enhances attentiveness, concentration, mood, and motivation..."
If you'd like to continue to read, go to: http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/0099.html My body is trying to fit into a new environment. So, when my body is completed the process, can I wake up more easily than now??

2011.11.23Crazy doughnuts.

How long can you wait for buying doughnuts? There are doughnuts shops in Japan. "Mr. Doughnuts" seems the biggest chain doughnut shop in Japan, so you see them in most famous cities and nearby train stations. I didn't know how much Japanese like doughnuts. About 3 years ago, the American chain doughnuts shop called Krispy Kreme was open in Shinjuku, Tokyo. That would be the first shop in Japan and so a lot of people rush to taste it. I remember people were making a long line, I mean really really a long line. There were securities at the end of line and had a board which says "You wait 2 hours from here." It was surprising for me that people wait for that long to purchase doughnuts. Now, Krispy Kreme opens more shops in Tokyo, and most shops are conveniently selling without waiting, except Shinjuku... I passed in front of one in Shinjuku yesterday, and there was still a line! It looks much shorter but still like 30 minutes to go.
"Hey, have you been such a fan of doughnuts since before? If so, don't waste time and go to other ones. There are the same shops in Shibuya and Ebisu. Or, if you cannot stand without doughnuts, go to Mr. Doughnuts!" I was thinking so, looked back and walked away. Sometimes, people do something weird that I cannot believe. It's interesting, though.

2011.11.19Meeting people is precious.

I met an old friend last night. NARM DISCOS and DROPEND present "Nearly Accused Rocking Madness Screaming Holocaust Vol.2" was yeasterday. 00 Squad, Dropend, Rednecks, Strange Factory, and Voco Protesta played. Goum was supporsed to play but couldn't because of a member's personal reason. The gig was really good. I loved all bands, especially, Voco Protesta. It was their first gig in Tokyo this year. They are now stopping playing at gigs and focusing on a new release. I talked with the drummer, and he was very nice. We were talking about the old Tokyo punk scene like bands and thoughts around D.I.Y. Records. When I told him I was playing bass in Tantrum, he was surprised and told me we used to meet quite often at the records shop more than a decade ago. I remembered him and we talked about many more things like who was now playing in what band, who started a record label and etc.. That is a great moment to meet somebody I used to hang out.

2011.11.16What happens if custom tax is gone?

I'm managing to sell Japanese seafood products online as well as Japanese ceramics. I went to a seminar and party of Alibaba.com yesterday. The website opens to the World, and more than 18 million companies are using them. The seminar was good and interesting. A professor of Aoyama Gakuin University gave a speach about the world economic crisis. The conclusion of his was to blame the political situation and ruling party right now in Japan because of TPP which is defined as "The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), also known as the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement, is a multilateral free trade agreement that aims to further liberalise the economies of the Asia-Pacific region." Japanese are still confusing if it's a good strategic for them or not. Easy understanding, TPP is making remove almost all of tariffs or custom taxes among countries which agree with it. In my opinion it's a great idea because we don't have to pay taxes when I purchase records from other countries, right?! Anyway, the company I work for has been suffering from the restrictions of radioactive material on imports. Especially, China's one is very strict so that we cannot export even though many people are asking to buy. There are many problems we have to overcome, but I believe there is a light for a better future after a while. One more thing. I saw news that eBay and Japan Post are having business together sometime in few years, and Japan Post announced they were going to cut 20 to 30 percents of postage for international shipping through purchasing on eBay. Isn't it exciting?

2011.11.12Japan and Internet.

Things don't go along with what I imagine. I have several jobs. I'm dealing with vinyls, ceramics, and seafood products. There are threads that all the businesses is related to Japan made and the Internet. This time, I'm talking about the ceramic business but not really into that business. I work with my uncle and cousin and sell Japanese ceramics at an online shopping site called Rakuten. I'm a manager of the internet sales and so responsible for it. I was using cell phone to get calls about half a year ago, which means I didn't have a home phone because I didn't really use it. I needed at least one home phone number for running my business, so I signed a contract with the phone company and purchased a very simple phone. One day, Rakuten asked me if I have a facsimile at my office. I thought it wasn't much used these days anymore because I thought that scanning files and sending attaching with emails was more common. So I didn't get a phone with facsimile function. One day, Rakuten asked me if I have a facsimile. I said no, but they didn't seem happy with that. So, I had to have one about two weeks ago. I was still happy when I got a new phone machine with facsimile even though I regretted to purchase the simple phone instead of with facsimile half a year ago. I would have been able to save some money. Now there is a new facsimile phone beside me. Today, I needed to scan photos and relized the scanner isn't very good for that. I tried to adjust contrast and brightness, but it didn't go well anyway. So, I asked my uncle that I need to get a new scanner for our business, and he said "If you buy one, you'd better select multifunction machine. That comes with scanner, copy, facsimile, and printer. It's very convenient, and don't worry. I pay for it." Hey.. shouldn't I have asked him before signing a contract with phone company?

2011.11.09Svart Framtid

My friend Patrick Toole gave me a copy of Svart Framtid reissue 7". I knew that band long time but didn't have a chance to listen. We were tallking about Norwegian Hardcore like Kafka Prosess and So Much Hate, and then he mentioned Svart Framtid. I thought the band was Swedish, but it didn't and he told me it's really good. When I put the record on my turn table, I couldn't believe how great they were. The songs seem to be well thought, the riffs are very unique, and total production is just the "Hardcore Punk." The record makes me feel just for a minute, actually it's not, but I feel so because it is that good. What a great year 1984 is. Still my heavy rotation is Maximum Rock'n'Roll presents "Welcome to 1984." I don't list up those bands on, but it's unbelievable. I feel it contains bands, scenes, countries , emotions and enthusiams all together. If there is time machine, I'll go to '84 right away.

2011.11.06Finnish Hardcore.

How about Finnish Hardcore? I love Rattus very much. Rajoitettu Ydinsota 7" is one of the most influencing records in my life. Their website is still alive. Awesome. http://rattus.fi/ Kaaos is, of course, a great influencing band in the World. I've seen their live videos, and they act more than the vinyls. Really respectful band. I've listened to Cadgers only on the split with Kaaos. They sound really aggressive, too. Disorder in Finland or something like that. I heard they changed the name to Riistetyt right after. Recently, Bastards' great releases were repressed. The 1st 7" and 12" really rule. Noisy and destructive riffs coming out of speakers. Varaus sounds like more U.S. HC influenced. Very great rough sound. Their 1/2 LP was reissued years ago. I like the language of Finland. It's different from Italian but sounds very fast because of the tongue rolls. I think the language itself sounds like music. Very melodic language. What I love of Appendix is the drumming. That blew my head. Houra EP is one of their greatest work, and I love Eliittipiiri the best of the songs on. When the intro starts, I feel exactly "excited!!" If there is a moshpit next to my bed, I dance alone till I get muscle pain the next day.

2011.11.03Country of Sweden.

What Swedish bands do you like? I love Shitlickers. Their songs are great, but also they put out only one single at the time. I like their supposed-to-be-released-as-2nd-ep picture lp released by Distortion Rec, too. But the 1st ep is a killer. Anti-Cimex is great as well. Anarchist Attack ep is good and rare, but I love Victims of Bomb Raid and Raped Ass eps. There is a convenient lp that those two eps are on both sides. Avskum's Crucified by The System ep is anthem. The first song is such a unique riff and raw and dark. The ep was reissued several years ago. I'm very happy that D.T.A.L. has their old songs on MySpace. Time to Die ep is awesome. Plenty of noise comes with thrashing beat. Mob47 is my idol. I would have loved Spice Girls more if they covered Mob47.

2011.10.29Coffee lovers. Part 2

I have many responses from last email. Thank you very much for them. I believe many people now like to drink coffee. I got some responses that he/she doesn't like to take caffeins at all. I sometimes feel very irritating when I take too much coffee or tea. I think caffein effects to my brain. I recommend try some de-caffein coffee. I really like coffee taste, and so it doesn't matter if it's caffeined or de-caffeined. Personally, coffee with caffein tastes better. It's like I drink non-alcohol beer instead of regular beer. When I was living in Los Angeles, I drunk de-caffeined coffee late afternoon or night because coffee causes sleeping trouble when I drink much before I go to bed. Well, my brother also likes coffee, too. I think he drinks as much as I do, and he likes drip brew coffee. I heard drip brew coffee is common in North America. The method is heating the water to an optimal temperature, and then drips it onto a filter holding ground coffee. The hot water absorbs flavor from the coffee, passing through the filter and into a mag. He sometimes gives me, and it tastes really good.

2011.10.26Coffee lovers. Part 1

I'd like to continue to talk about coffee. (past post: http://cyclonerecordsjp.blogspot.com/2011/10/accomplice-result-disclose-sex-messiah.html) I think there is at least one Starbucks coffee in your city. Now it's a big company, and I know some people don't like them. They serve cheap coffee and take customers from local cafes and coffee shops. Let's stop thinking in that way and concentrate on just how much I like coffee. I started drinking two to three cups of coffee a day more than 10 years ago. I used to smoke, so it was a hilarious time to smoke cigarettes, read a book or chat with friends, and drink coffee. Right after stopping smoking, I didn't drink coffee for a while because I didn't feel so or I wanted cigarettes when I drank. Now it's OK and I'm back to lovely drink coffee. Starbucks has quite strong black coffee. I don't put suger or milk, so I don't pay much attention to other fancy latte or frappetino drinks. I order extra whip cream when I need something sweet though... Anyway, I like their black regular coffee. One of my friends who comes from Lugano, which is Italian part of Switzerland, drink a cup of espresso every after dinner. He said that is the Italian style and he cannot live without it. I like it but prefer drinking as Americano. Espresso is too little to enjoy hours with. When I toured in Australia with Kromozom, I found a sign of "Expresso" at a gas station. My friends said it's pretty common in country sides. They misunderstand the spelling. Doom Matt also told me it also happens at some stores in USA. Isn't "Thrash Coffee" a good name for a cafe?

2011.10.22Very Confuse.

Confuse "Nuclear Addicts" 7"Flexi is one of my best records ever. I like specific few songs from Swanky's and Gai, but in the total looks Confuse is the best. I love the artwork as well. The songs are more serious than other Kushyu noise bands. The bass player Pussy is playing in a band called "C" which would come from Crass' first letter. They sound like Crass. I see him sometimes at gigs and on the street. He still look like a real punk with blond spike hair and studs jacket. Their "Stupid Life" 12"EP is a great work, too. Do you like Pig Destroyer? My friend recommended it to me. He said a song called Natasha has more than 30 minutes. Let's try.

2011.10.19I like to drink coffee in a cold day.

It's getting cold and winter is coming through fall. Mob47 and Desperat finished their Japan tour last weekend. Ake, Chrille and Johan were really nice people. Hail to Swedish Hardcore. Jocke has been my friend online, and now we finally met face to face. His staging was ultra great and powerful. He is also playing in Warvictims. They are recording new songs right after he gets back home. He said he is living northern of Sweden and so had to drive 6 hours after 12 hours of flying. It's been a long tour since he left home. He also saide the temperature in winter season is around -28 Celsius degrees (-18.4 Fahrenheit). lol The lowest in Tokyo is around -3 celsius degrees (26.6 Fahrenheit). By the way, the coldest record in Japan is -30.2 celsius degrees (-22.4 Fahrenheit) at the top of Mt. Fuji and the hottest record is 40.9 celsius degrees (105.6 Fahrenheit) in Gifu and Saitama prefectures. When I get cold, hot drinks save me a lot. I drink two or three cups of coffee everyday. I usually make it at home. Canned coffee is very common in Japan. I can buy it anywhere like super market, convenience stores and vending machines. Tiny canned coffee gives me a little calm for break time. A typical can contains about 190g, and there are many different kinds. I mean really many. Right now I can find at least 20 or 30 kinds at a super market. There are season's specials, limited local versions and very minor makers. If you have a chance to go to Japanese market around your house, check it out!

2011.10.15Digital Android with analog man.

I'm using Android OS with my smart phone. iPhone 4S was released few days ago and people are rushing to stores. I saw an article which says "4S" might be "For Steven." I like electrics and check out new models. It's just very natural for me to have convenient stuff around myself. I just look around on my desk and see things like two mouses, two head-sets, speakers, a webcam, external hard disk drive, two flash memories, digital camera, desktop and laptop, bluetooth, tablet and so on. All the things are used for my work, but I'm really digital. On the other hand, I have vinyls and tapes to play and make such analogs as a label. So, apparently, there are mixed digital and analog in my life. I'm thinking what is good for my life and to innovate something new between digital and analog.

2011.10.12What application is useful for smartphone?

I'm recently using a cloud service called Dropbox. I didn't understand what "cloud" is a couple months ago. My assistant Satoshi told me Dropbox, and so we started using that. We can share the same documents, pictures, images, music and anything becoming degital files. When he or I put a file and set up a shared file, then we can access to the file from any computers. The similar service is Evernote. I'm now trying it. Both services can be used on a smart phone, too. Dropbox is more for picures, musics, or high resolution files. On the other hand, Evernote is convenient to memorize memos, ideas, or snapshots. I used to use Skype to exchange files online with friends, but now more likely I use Dropbox. I saw a magazine about the service. That is invented and admired in silicon valley, so I believe it's reliable even though I still sometimes think what happens if virus attacks their servers, though...

2011.10.09Sushi makes Japanese crazy.

People I met in California asked me the same question about Japanese all the time. "Why does Japanese like Sushi so much?" I didn't realize that until I was asked first few times. In fact, almost all of Japanese love Sushi very much. Commonly, we eat for celebrations like birthday, new year, and promotion. There are now discount sushi restaurants anywhere in Japan so we have more chances lately, but it used to be a special food and very expensive because raw fish is fresh and so hard to cook. If you need to take care of Japanese guests or friends in business or personal in your country, taking to sushi restaurants would be the best. If you think it's quite costly or invite your home, you can also make it. You don't really need raw fish. Rice with vinegar is used for sushi. Put some vinegar on steamed rice (wine vinegar would be no problem from my experience) and make small rice balls like you see in sushi restaurant or super market.
Make thin omelet, slice in a proper size, and put it on the rice ball. That's it. Also, sliced cucumber is good for sushi. Recently, some discount sushi restaurants put sliced beef stake on rice ball. That's tasty, too. The things at least you need to prepare is steamed rice, vinegar and soy sauce. Try the rice ball with sliced avocado, sliced onion, smoked salmon, and mayonnaise. That's one of my favorite!

2011.10.05Mob47 Japan tour with Skizophrenia!

MOB47 Japan tour is starting from this week with SKIZOPHRENIA. Their Demo 7" is still available and SKIZOPHRENIA's new 7" is out on October 8th. It's 800 JPY + shipping. Preorder is now welcomed. I saw MOB47 in Montreal last year, and the gig was really awesome. They had been my idol since high school. That is always good when I can see bands which I long for for years. ASTA KASK also gave me lots of energy and amazing stages. I love Scandinavian bands. I reckon they have great sense of music. It's different from British or Black music. Climate may or must influence music as well as culture. I imagine they stay at home during the cold winter, think lots of things, grow their insights, and release them when Spring comes. Seasons are very important and beautiful for me. Sorry, there is no point in my story this time. Oh, by the way, possessed-by-80's-Scandinavian-bands-with-Bulldozers-of-beer VARAUS S.S. 10" MLP is now on sale. Check it out.

2011.10.01Terminator 4.

I started push-up about two months ago. Before that I didn't do almost any exercise. One day, my friend pointed I have boobs... Let me give an execuse. I had swum since 6 years old. When I was 13 or 14 years old, I stopped going to the swimming school. If you have done some sports, you may know that the shape of the body part which you used to used a lot leaves as fat or soft muscle. My chest is exactly like that. I know when the part has the shape back when exercises are given, but I didn't do it and, yes, it may look like I HAVE BOOBS. I was paranoid "Oh my god! Everybody looks and laughs at me!..." So I started the exercise. Today, I went to a gig and met some friends. They asked me "Hey, what happens? You look pretty muscular!" Hahaha. Yes, I can do it! I need to talk with Mr. James Cameron about Terminator 4.
P.S. I knew Terminator has been made till series 5. I'm not a big film fan, ha!

2011.09.28Digital Android with analog man.

Kromozom finished its Japan tour last Sunday. The last show was as amazing as the starting one. I love Yeap's style, Penky's bass line, Cormy's guitar noise and Takayama's headbacking drums. I spoke with Lewis about records, introduced myself to Mr. Greg, talked about NOMAD with Alex. Isterismo, Jun and Ebi of played with me, Shorn was drunk, and Satoshi and SO of Hardcore Survive looked exausted. Forward played and was an awesome set, Unarm was really mad and a great stage, I love Rednecks' energy, Asmodeus was as dark as hell. Members of Stagnation, Tantrum, Filthy Hate, Avfall, Haava, Tom And Boot Boys, Age and more were there. Great music, great tour and great people.

2011.09.24Cat's attaaaaaack!

I'm with cats right now. My parents own them, so sometimes I go there to take care of cats when they go on vacation. There are two cats. One is 12 years old, his name is Neko (which means Cat in Japanese) and the other is 6 months, his name is Merry. I think 12 years old is old enough as cats. He looks grandpa, and 6 months looks like a child or baby. Merry was left in front of the animal hospital, and my mother got the small cat from the vet. Now those two cats live in the same house. Neko was a kind of prince in my family before Merry came. I think he was a little bit spoiled. Merry is young and has lots of energy. Merry jumps, attacks and chases him and makes messes everywhere. Neko looks obviously annoyed, but nobody can stop him playing around. No exception about Neko. We need to wait until he gets exhausted and falls asleep. A small big gangstar. You can see how he is naughty from my YouTube.

2011.09.21Save the green and our lives.

A historical big typhoon has hit Japan right now. The big hurricane hit around New York City recently. Very big earthquakes have been caused in the world the last decade. Very cold and heat weathers have been recorded. Maybe because I'm in Japan and Japan got terrible disasters these days, I feel I need to do something for the earth. I think these phenomenons have probably happened for every specific periods. Of course, decades or centuries ago larger and more cruel disasters might have happened which I didn't experienced that. I assume people at that era tried to do something for the earth to calm down. They might have prayed or sacrificed or changed something. I lately imagine if it's our turn now. This is not a scientific guess but my opinion, so I'm not sure what help it. But, I'm trying to reduce trash from my daily life, turn off electricity and lights which I don't use, and avoid dumping foods. There is no rule that I have to do so, but I believe it's not bad for anybody neither.

2011.09.17Network of friends.

Kromozom, Isterismo, Gauze, Life, Avfall, ATF and Filthy Hate played tonight in Tokyo. This is my third time to see Cormy of ex. Nuclear Death Terror. He now plays in Kromozom. His first visit in Japan was one of my friend Rob last year. Rob is attending Crucial Section's European tour this October. He is closed to Hiro of C.S. Takayama, the drummer of Framtid, plays drums in Kromozom during this tour. I talked with Yeap. He had very husky voice before the gig. He said he drunk too much last night. Lewis of No Patience came from Australia, too. The nice surprise was Ian and Alex of Perdition were also there. They just arrived last night. They looked exausted but we were happy to meet again. I met Ian this February in New York, June in Texas and September in Tokyo. It's more often than seeing my dad. Alex Warhead was always at gigs. I'm very happy to be able to see friends. Network of Friends. No matter where we live. As long as there is music, we can be one again.

2011.09.14How long is the best for a cassette tape?

I like to dub from records to cassette tapes when I purchased new ones. I cannot skip tracks. I'm forced to listen to all songs. When it goes to the end, then it starts reversing and over and over again. Especially, it's good during driving. CD may be the same thing but I do on tape because I don't have a burner from records to CDs. 46 minutes is a little bit short for me. 60 minutes is the best. Recently, I have had several cassette tapes that are released from Hardcore Victims. I was surprised very first time but it's nice that there are same takes on both sides. I don't know if it's a normal style in Australia, but I don't have to flip it or care about which is A or B side. Some tapes are confusing the sides. At last, I like the noise when cassette ends better than cd's.

2011.09.10New PC isn't good all the time.

As I spoke about computers hating me, I had had another difficulty. I boutght a tower pc a week ago. I didn't know that these days OS disks are not included in the package but already installed in the computer. I just open boxes and set up with cords. After I connected all the materials, turned on. It worked good, and I was so happy with the new nice pc with Windows 7 (I have a laptop which Windows Vista is installed and 99.9% of my friends have told the OS is not good at all..). But, I found a strange phenomenon. When screen saver turns on and I come back, the language bar and cursor are there but no icons are on the monitor. I thought "is it some new special function for Windows 7?" but I couldn't recover from it at all. I wondered but had to do my work so that I turned off using the power botton. The same phenomoen happened again next time, but I also realized the icons came back after the second screen saver was begun. So, I mastered when only language bar and cursor were shown in the monitor, I need to wait untill the screen saver starts again and then come back from it. But, I knew that was a normal conditon with a brand new pc and so called the customer service center. The first call, the representative said to recover the OS to the first condition of the computer was made. So I followed his instruction and recovered it. Well, I still found the same problem and called again. I forgot what he said but, anyway, my computer wasn't good as well as my old old Vista laptop. I was very disappointed but tried to call again. He said "how many cables are connected to your monitor?" I said "two." He said "it shouldn't be supposed to two but one, so please disconnect the blue one." I said both cables came in the package and blue one was already connected to the PC. Anyway, I had nothing but to follow that and disconnected it. Yes, the computer worked normally. The phenomenon had never happened again since that. Well, I'm now really happy with my new PC and wished just called once and I was able to solve it. Hey, blue was connected when the package came, moreover, that one of two cables is not used for the regular setting is too difficult to understand for such a beginner...

2011.09.07Digital Android with analog man.

Computers hate me. I changed my cell phone to Tablet which is about twice as bigger as reguler smart phones. I heard I was able to reduce 50% or more time to sit down in front of PC if I get a smart phone. Personally, I think I'm a heavy user of PC and spend more than 10 hours a day, and so my back and ass are aching. Anyway, I thought I would use the small wise computer more than others and so chose bigger memory and faster cpu one. The very first time, I used a regular cell phone and the tablet. But soon after I got tired of carrying two devices and combined in one to tablet. OK, I can see most pages with that, but still the internet speed is slower and not better enough than usual computers and keyboard goes "A" when I touch "S." Well, I understand it takes a little time to get used to, and I try my best and to be nice with him. He sleeps beside me, too. However, one day I reaized the phone book has some problems. I saw about 400 memories in it but none of them was shown where they should have been. They were in a specific group which makes them useless. I couldn't find or call nobody in the phone book. So, I took it to the store I purchased and showed. They said it was unusual and needed to initialize once. I told yes and all the applications I had installed and calendars were gone. It was no problem to me. I didn't put so many datas yet and really wanted it to be fixed. The problem was solved and I was happy and slept with him again. Few days later, he frozed when I opened a map application which was defaultly installed. I was sad. I knew I had to wait and talk for hours with the customer service, but I must have taken him to, and now he is in hospital..

2011.09.03Nearly Accused Rocking Madness Screaming Holocaust Vol.1

I went to a gig tonight. DROPEND, GOUM, FILTHY HATE, DIGRAPHIA, B.O.A, and D-CLONE played and that was really nice and brutally noisy night. I don't drink that much alcohol or every time, but I cannot stop once I start drinking. As drinking people know that drinking and nice music are great. I don't mosh but do headbacking sometimes. Alcohol makes me feel good and forget what is happening when I get sober. I'm not afraid what I have done when I was drunk because I'm sure I don't do anything bad. I'm always a good boy. :) But, I'm afraid my neck ache the next day...

2011.08.31Isterismo / Kromozom split EP.

Finally, Isterismo and Kromozom's split 7"EP is out! I still remember when I went on tour with them in Australia. We had 3 gigs in Melbourne, 1 in Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane. Total 6 gigs in a week wasn't that bad. Everybody who was involved in that tour and Kromozom were very nice. Lewis of No Patience was funny and play in great bands, Will and Geordie of Teargas were nice, Murdoch had a great distribution, we stayed at Spider's house who has played in Deathcage at the gig in Sydney, I was happy to fainally meet Glenn of Unknown To God, and more and more things happened. This September Kromozom comes to tour in Japan, so we make more stories in life together. Here is a photo in Australia. Photo

2011.08.27What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20.

I recently purchased a book called "What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20." This book starts about how you make money with $5. This is a real story in classes of Stanford University, and students attended came up with plenty of ideas for the subject. In this book it's telling how they can increase money with ideas and little money. They think and come up with many ideas and try in real. There are many interesting stories in there, and what I thought is that ideas are always wonderful. It's not only for making money but also my daily life things. Like when I get fight with my lover and how to bury the hatchet, when I need to change my job, or if someone comes to hard sell. I think there are always better solutions, and the outcomes are depending on ideas. Do you agree or not?

2011.08.24Black and White.

I have purchased t-shirts all the time when I go to gigs. Most t-shirts are white ink on black so my chest is a flood of black and white. I wonder how many I have of them. I haven't counted since long time before. But also, I have thrown away not good t-shirts once a while. A regular tshirt lasts about several years, and if I don't like the design anymore, I throw away. Or, I may cut the neck and sleeve and make differences. I sometimes make a back pach by cutting off the design. Some t-shirts are so cheesy that I have to toss to a bin after the first washing. If it's in a dryer, it will die like I have never remembered what shapes of clothe I got. So don't forget to take a picture with the t-shirt immediately after you purchased. But I love and keep purchasing them after great gigs.

2011.08.20Scary!!

Do you believe poltergeists? I didn't. No, I didn't until yesterday. It was hard rainning and an unusually cooler and darker day than past several months. I needed to go out to get some stuff, and, of course, I got very wet even though I had an umbrella and was outside for just 20 minutes or so. When I got back home, I took clothes off and had a quick shower. I used a bath towel and put it on a door corner. I usually use the same bath towel a couple of times so have to dry it out. I always do it so have decided where to put the towel everyday. But, it was a rainy day and other clothes were taking the position. So, I put it on the door corner which I have never put on before. While waiting for my computer was starting up, I read a book. I think probably about 5 or 10 minutes later, the towl fell down on the floor. I noticed that and picked it up and back to the corner. When I went back to my chair and was about to starting reading, I came up with a question. Maybe, you knew what I thought. The towel was never supporsed to fall down from the door corner. I made sure the towel was rightly placed and tried to avoid falling. The windows were open, but no winds were felt. There waw nobody in the apartment except myself. There was no reason found the towel fell down. That happens only once and never happened after that by now. I still remember I placed the towel not letting fall down on the floor... What did that?

2011.08.17Customer service.

Have you ever been in trouble with customer services? Satoshi and I incidentally have quite same time. His cell phone's calling function was broken for some reason, so he went to its own store. He needed previously a reservation to meet a person in the store, so he did it and showed up on time. But the customer service was too busy to take care of him so that he had to wait for 30 minutes. I think that's quite common in a usual life. However, why he got frustrated is that they told him to cancel the reservation if he is late more than 8 minutes when he called to make it. I would feel the same frustration if I had been him. They have a right to cancel a reservation and let people wait and spend their time. Well, am I impatient..? What happend to me is that I ordered a Tshirt online. It was supporsed to deliver to my old mailing address. I forgot to change it and so they had no idea where I was living. The delivery company like FedEx called me and said they needed to put the item back to the sender and reschedule to the new mailing address. I thought why the delivery compnay couldn't change the final destination and needed to send it back once. Anyway, that was a kind of my fault, so I said yes and waited for a phone call or email from the sender. Weeks later I remember I hadn't gotten the Tshirt yet so called the customer service. A lady picked up my phone. I asked her what's going on to my item. She went to check it out, came back and said "I'm sorry. The order was cancelled." I still remember I said at least 666 times of "What?" I pre-ordered and waited for more than 3 months. I was about to getting it in my hand. But she said NO. I was really pi**ed and asked as many questions as I can come up for half an hour. But, finally, I gave up. She was possessed of sorry and I can't. There were no way I could at that time. So, I hung up and took the deepest breath I have ever had. The Tshirt was made by a quite famous brand and the company I was in trouble was retailer. So, I tried to contact the brand if they could ask the retailer to sell it again to me and crossed fingurs. The next day, the brand emailed me and said to ask the retailer to sell to me. Of course, I was so happy to hear that, and the next day, the retailer called me and told to have sent the Tshirt. That was a long story in a short period. It was a tough experience for me, but I learned many things, too. I don't wanna call a customer service again..

2011.08.13Summer vacation.

There is a summer vacation in Japan. We welcome ancestors from heaven on August 13th, celebrate being together, and send them off on 15th. We call this vacation "Obon" and spend time with family. Usually, children go to their parents home or the oldest brother's house and spend the whole vacation. Some people spend in overseas or travel in Japan. I usually stay at my parents home. Almost all of my relatives come to see each other. All the time my mother serves some drinks and sweets, so there are bunches of fatty sweety snacks, candys and cake. I know it's not good for me but cannot stop... So when the vacation is ended, I always gain. Gotta exercise more!! By the way, one of my friends gave me Hazelnut chocolate as a Malasian souvenir. I had it with Satoshi, and it was so good that I ate almost one third by myself. What's wrong? Gotta exercise more!! I went to my doctor last year and was told to walk an hour a day to lose visceral fat. This year, I went again and he said the fat had lost nothing. Not gained but not lost. I told him I was trying to walk an hour a day as much as I can, and he suggested walk two hours a day... Maybe he will say three hours a day next year. Gotta exercise more!!

2011.08.10Photographer.

I started taking photos. I purchased Canon EOS Kiss X2. This is used but still working well. My grandpa used to like cameras and left some lends after he died. Because he gave away the camera itself, I purchased the body and use the lends. I have used a compact digital camera for years and been satisfied with the outcomes. I could go to vacations, shows and hangouts with the compact, but once I use the single-lens reflex, I cannot go back to the compact. The focus is better, and the subjects look very different. They are closer to reality like tangible. I polish up more skills and take photos for bands.

2011.08.06Idols are burning!

There is an idol goup called AKB48 in Japan now. There are 48 teenage girls dancing and singing. We have had such goups since 80's.
The first big group was Onyanko Club which started from 10 girls and ened up about 29 girls. The second big wave came as a group of Morning Musume. There were 5 girls at the beginning, then more girls joined (the maxium was 16), and now there are 9 in the group. The latest group is the AKB48. That's very interested that Onyanko Club and AKB48 are under the same director called Yasushi Akimoto. He is a very famous director and songwriter in Japan. I remember when I was still high school, I knew who were in Morning Musume, who is the nicest and brabra. Now I'm getting old and don't understand what is and who are in AKB48... (It's a shorten of AKihaBara) It's more complicated than algebra for me.

2011.08.03Pizza man.

I'm working at a Pizza restaurant. Recently, few part-timers were hired, but they are all high school students and don't know what to do... I have no idea what to talk with 10 year younger folks. I'm worried if I say some blue jokes, I may be thought as a weird guy. So, I try to pretend "normal" and pay attention... Was I like them when I had been a high school student? Well, I'm getting old. I loved Reggae when I listened to this in high school.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3TKowJ7y7E&feature=player_embedded#at=35
This is my starting of Raggae. - posted by Satoshi

2011.07.30I miss him.

I went to a gig that GOUM, NK6, and more bands were playing. GOUM just came back from Malaysia and Singapore tour last week. They said they had a very good experience and hospitality during the tour and enjoyed gigs over there very much. They are going to play at a music festival in Indonesia this November. I have to manage my schedule for that... I used to share an apartment room with an Indonesian man in California. He was a very nice guy but didn't know anything about Hardcore Punk until I moved in. I let him listen to GISM, FRAMTID, DEATH SIDE. He liked them very much and we went out gigs together. I still remember when DISCLOSE, MUGA, TOMORROW and REALITY CRISIS came from Japan, and CRIPPLE BASTARDS came from Italy and played with FINAL CONFLICT, LACK OF INTEREST, PHOBIA and more. I had very unforgettable memories in those days. One day, my roommate came back and showed me a huge tattoo of GISM's skull wing on his back... I miss him.

2011.07.27Same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of New York became legal on July 24, 2011 under the Marriage Equality Act, which was passed on June 24. I'm straight and not much concerned about this issue, but apparently, many people look happy in news. Martin, ex. Los Crudos, Harto and Limp Wrist, is famous about gay. I have met and talked with him several times. He is a very nice man and hardworker. I like photos he took, too. It may be a rumor, but I heard Los Crudos reunioned. I want to see them.

2011.07.20War System!

Do you like Shitlickers "War System?" I do very much. When I listened the very first time, I still remember that was so exciting. I would like to know how they recorded the songs. I love the rough sound and distort guitars. The most amazing thing for me is how they were able to make such a great song with only one riff. I was in a band and always thought how to combine A riff and B riff, or B riff and C riff and so on. But they make a song with just a riff. My heavy rotation for decades. Great!

2011.07.16Two ice candies.

Hi, this is Satoshi. It's such a hot day today here in Japan. I was outside for a whole day and so tired that I had two ice candies. Alright, Animes have started for this summer, but I haven't checked out any... I still live in a memory of Animes of this first half year. Check out this link for the image. http://kakuseiss.exblog.jp/14096382/ This anime is called "Denpa Onna To Seishun Otoko." What a maniac title it is. The story is more moderate than this kind of animes, but I'm smiling when I look back. :) What's so good is the main character Erio's transparent existence! If you are interested, google it. - posted by Satoshi

2011.07.13A Frend in France.

I met a friend who came from France last week. I didn't think people who receive this email pay much attention to this nicely uninteresting putrid poem, but she said "you shouldn't eat fat foods and walk more" to me when I met her. The first time I didn't understand what she was talking about, but then I figured out she read the last email and worried about my health. I'm not sure how many of you read my not-fun-daily sentences, but at least she does. So, I realized that it's my roll to tell something good for the world and your life! Well, I try to be a nice man next week, no, next month, maybe next year... next life? :)))

2011.07.0910,000 steps everyday.

These days, I take care of my health. I'm not that big man, but my doctor says I have gotten neutral fat around my viscera when I had a check-up last month. Now I need to walk about an hour or make 10,000 steps everyday, and moreover, he stops me to eat oily food and sweets... What is life? What is fun for living?? I need more music to listen. :(((